Liquid-feed device



A. L. BALL.

LIQUID FEED DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 8. 1918.

11339,-734, Patented May 11,1920.

6 291- Flyr I l Y To @ZZ 'whom it may concern.'

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

ARLINGTON L. BALL, OF DUNKIRK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

` TO GERMER STOVE COMPANY, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN-SYLVANIA. Y

LIQUID-FEED DEVICE.

Application filed November 8, 1918.

Be it known that I, ARLrNGToN L. BALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dunkirk, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid- FeedDevices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a liquid feed-device, and more particularly to adevice for providing even and constant feed of liquid fuel.

My invention has for its primary object the provision of a simple andeflicacious feed controlling device whereby liquid-fuel may be suppliedto a fuel-burner; it being particularly designed for use in connectionwith burners employed in poultry hovers, brooders, etc.; however, itwill be understood from the description to follow that it may be adaptedfor use for various other purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple ioat-controlleddevice having a va Yve-controlled inlet and a valve-concontrolledoutlet; the device being so constructed that both the inlet and outletmay be closed simultaneously, or that the inlet opening only may beopened and the outlet thereof controlled by the level of the liquidwithin the device; also so that when the outlet is clogged with foreignmatter, this foreign matter will be automatically discharged through theoutlet.

lith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel features of construction and in the arrangement and combination ofparts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe subjoined claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a liquid fuel containerhaving my improved feedcontrolling device attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lower end of the container andthe liquid feed-device on a somewhat enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the fuel feed-device andthe adjacent portions of the parts to which it is secured.

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 4 4, Fig. 1, looking up.

The reference 'character 5 designates the liquid fuel container. In theapplication Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Serial No. 261,622.

of my invention shown in the drawings, this liquid-fuel container isadapted to be positioned in a plane above that in which the burner islocated to which the liquid fuel is to be fed evenly and constantly bymeans of my improved device. This container may be of any construction.In preferred form'it, however, consists of a cylindrical casing having acover 6 which may be removed for providing the container with thedesired quantity of fuel. f

Secured to the bottom 7 of the liquid-fuel container is a support in theform of a bracket 8, and this bracket has webbed arms 9, 1() arranged atright angles to each other with a lateral guide and sight portion 11 atthe lower end of the arm 10. The guide and sight portion of said bracketis provided with a transverse opening 12, preferably closed at oppositeends with glass, as at 13. Threaded into said guide and sight portionfrom the bottom is a feedpipe 14, which is adapted to beled to theburner which is to be supplied with the liquid-fuel.

Extending upwardly from the transverse opening 12 is a guide opening 15,preferably formed with two diameters joined by a beveled portion orshoulder 16. y

17 designates my improved feed controlling device, which comprises acasing or chamber 18 having a cylindrical wall 19, a bottom 20 and a capor cover 21. The cap or cover .21 has an internally-threaded rim 22 intowhich the upper externally-threaded end of the body portion of thecasing or chamber is to be loosely threaded to any desired degree, for apurpose to appear hereinafter. The cap or cover 21 is provided with anupwardly extending axial boss 23, which extends through the bottom 7 ofthe container; this boss being soldered, as at 24, around the opening insaid bottom through which it is passed. At its upper end the boss 23 istapered, as at 25, and it is provided with an axial bore, the innerportion 26 of which is considerably larger than the outer portion 27,said portions 26 and 27 being joined by a tapered portion 28, whichserves as a valve seat. The bottom 20 of the casing or chamber' 18 isprovided with a downwardly extending boss 29 adapted to slide within theupwardly extending guide opening 15 in the guide or sight portion 11ofthe bracket. p

Like the boss 23 of the cap or cover 21,

the boss 29 is tapered at its lower end, as at 30, and it is alsoprovided with a bore having a portion of comparatively large diameter 31Aat its inner end, and a portion of comparatively small diameter 32 atits outer end, said portions 31 and 32 being joined by a tapered portion33 serving as a valve seat.

Arranged axially within the casing or chamber 18 is a valve rod 34 towhich a float 35 is secured. it opposite ends said valve rod is providedwith conical valves 36, 37, respectively, the valve 36 being adapted forco-action with the tapered portion or valve seat 2S in the boss of thecap or cover, while the valve37 is adapted for co-action with thetapered portion or valve seat 33 in the boss 29 at the bottom of thecasing or chamber. By preference this valve rod is provided withshoulders 33, 39, respectively, at the bases of the conical valveportions 36, 37 of said rod, and these shoulders are adapted to bear,respectively, against the shoulders d0, d1, formed in the bores of thebosses at the upper and lower ends of the feed device.

This feed controlling-device therefore comprises a chamber or casinghaving valve seats at its upper and lower ends with comparatively smallinlet and outlet openings extending upwardly and downwardly, re-

spectively, a double-ended valve adapted to co-act with said valveseats, and a float controlling the movements of said valve, the wholebeing arranged to permit ofregulating the distance between said valveseats.

lVhen first placing niy device into use, the body portion of theliquid-feed controlling device is threaded fully into the cap or coverof said device, as shown in Fig. 3. When thus arranged, the lower valveseat is brought against the lower valve of the valve rod 34, while theupper valve is moved against the upper valve seat, thus closing both theinlet and the outlet openings of the device. T he liquid-fuel may now bepoured into the container 5, and when filled tothe desired height and itis desired to supply the burnerV with fuel, the body portion is moveddownward-ly to the desired degree by unthreading the same from the capor cover` to the required extent. During this action, the body portionof the liquid-feed device is moved downwardly while being rotated, thuscausing the boss 29 at the lower end thereof to` move further into theupwardly extending guide opening 15 in` the guide and? sight portion ofthe bracket. it the same time, the valve rod and the float attachedthereto move downwardly within the casing or chamber 1S so as to causethe outlet opening of the latter to remain closed. actionV perm-its thevalve at the upper end of said valve rod to become unseated from theyvalve seat formed in the boss 23V extending into the liquid fuelcontainer. The liquid from the container may therefore pass through theboss 23 and enter the casing or chamber 18.

Then the liquid-fuel within the casing or chamber reaches a certainlevel predetermined by the position of the float on the valve rod, thevalve at the lower end of said valve rod becomes unseated and permitsthe liquid-fuel to pass through the guide and sight portion of thebracket and down through the feed pipe to the burner supplied thereby.rlhe upward movement of the valve rod is comparatively slight butsufficient to somewhat restrict the flow of the liquid fuel through theinlet of the casing or chamber, and when the normal level of the liquidwithin the casing, or chamber is reached, both valves will be exactlyequal distances from their seats, thus the flow of the liquid-fuel fromthe casing or chamber will exactly equal that entering said casing orchamber from the container. The amount of liquid-fuel fed to the burnercan be easily ascertained through the sight opening 12 in the bracket,and if the quantity fed is to be reduced, it is simply necessary torotate the body portion of the casing or chamber 13 to the right so asto slightly shorten the distance between the two valve seats of thedevice. vVhen more liquid-fuel is necessary for the desired results, thebody portion of saidcasing or chamber may be rotated to the left, thusincreasing the distances between the valve seats, and thereby enlargingthe spa es between the valve seats and the valves co-acting therewith.

By tapering the upper end of the upper boss, foreign particles coming incontact therewith tend to move away from the inlet opening, thusminimizing the chances of foreign matter entering the casing` or chamber13. If, however, foreign matter should enter said casing or Vchamber andlodge between the lower valve seat and the valve co acting therewith,the, iow of the liquid fuel through the outlet of they device isconsequently reduced. This causes the flow of the liquid fuelv enteringthe device to be greater than they quantity of fuel escaping therefrom,with the result that a higher level of the liquid-fuel will be createdwithin said device, thereby causing the float to rise with the resultthat the valve at the upper endv of the valve rod willI close againstits valve seat. At the same time, the space between the valve at thelower end of said valverod andi its coactifng seat becomes enlarged so.that the liquid fuel passing through the outlet will actto loosen the.yforeign matter and carry the same down through theA guide and sightportion of the bracket and into theV feed pipe la. lhis causes the levelof the liquid;-

fuel to be lowered within the casing or chamber 18, whereupon the uppervalve is moved from its co-acting valve seat and the lower valve movedtoward its co-acting valve seat, after which the iiow through the inletand outlet again becomes equalized.

By means of this construction, an even and constant feed is assured atall times, and the quantity of liquid fed into and from the liquid-fueldevice can be regulated most minutely, due to the fact that a completerevolution of the body portion of the casing will cause only a slightincrease in the space between the two valve seats of the device, and itis apparent that the body portion may be rotated any portion of arevolution of any number of. revolutions.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim is l. In a liquidfeed-device, an extensible casing having an inlet opening at one end andan outlet opening at its other end, connected valves arranged withinsaid casing and adapted to co-act with said inlet and said outletopenings, and a float to which said valves are connected.

2. In a liquid feed-device, a casing oomprising two parts. and havingone part threaded into the other, one part having an inlet openingprovided with a valve-seat and the other part having an outlet openingprovided withV a valve-seat, a valve-rod .arranged axially within saidcasing and having valves at opposite ends adapted to coact with saidvalveeseats, and a float secured to said valve rod.

3. A liquid feed-device, comprising a casing having a body portionprovided with an outlet opening at its lower end, a cap into which saidbody portion is adjustably threaded, said cap having an inlet openingtherethrough, and float-controlled valves rigidly connected together andadapted to co-act with said inlet and said outlet open- Agi. A liquidfeed-device, comprising a casing having a body portion provided with anaxial outlet opening at its lower end and a valve-seat around saidoutlet opening, a cap into which said body portion is adjustably.threaded and which is provided with an axial inlet opening and avalve-seat around said inlet opening, a valve rod arranged axiallywithin said casing and having valves at opposite ends adapted to co-actwith said vave-seats, and a float secured to said valve ro 5. Thecombination with a liquid container, of a liquid feed-device secured tosaid container and comprising a casing having two parts, one part havingan axial boss extending up through the bottom of said container andhaving the upper end of said boss tapered, said boss having an inletopening axially therethrough with a valve seat around said inletopening, the other part of said casing being adjustably threaded intothe first-mentioned part and having an axial outlet opening in itsbottom and a valve seat around said outlet opening, a valve-rod arrangedaxially within said casing and having valves at opposite ends adapted toco-act with said valve-seats, and a ioat secured to said valve-rod.

6. The combination with a liquid container having a support securedthereto provided with a transverse sight-opening and a guide openingextending upwardly from said sight-opening, of a liquid feed-devicecomprising two parts, one of said parts being secured to said containerand having an axial inlet opening and the other being adjustablyconnected to said first-mentioned part and having an axial boss movablyt ting within said guide-opening, said other part having an outletopening axially through said boss, a valve-rod arranged axially withinsaid casing and adapted to have opposite ends thereof co-act with saidinlet and outletl openings, and a loat secured to said valve rod.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

ARLINGTON L. BALL.

